Black Nuzlocke: Scarlett's Run
by Sophie-Lou
Summary: Scarlett and her trusty Snivy, Zoe adventure through the region of Unova. As her journey unravels, Scarlett discovers a twisted connection between Unova's history, a strange trainer known only as "N", her own family and a series of unforgivable crimes that began with a tragic incident in the mysterious Lostlorn Forest. This is based on a recorded Nuzlocke Run of Pokemon Black.
1. Prologue

The Desert Resort was once the beating heart of the Kingdom of Unova. It was founded over two thousand years ago when the first recorded king flew to the untainted land on a mighty unnamed dragon. Legend has it that this remarkable Pokémon carried an entire civilization on its back from the war torn region of Kalos. With nothing more than a week's worth of food and the clothes on their back, the King had ordered his beloved partner to take him and his people far across the mighty ocean to find a new land. None of them knew for certain what lay beyond the Great Sea, whether there was even anything to find, but they also knew they had nothing left… so away they went.

Fortunately, there was indeed something to find. Just as the people were ready to give up hope, their King and his dragon spotted what they would later name the Castelia Shore. It was their first sight of Unova. The closer they got, the faster they realized that there was indeed hope for them all as beyond those cliffs lay fertile lands filled with food, gushing water and, of course, Pokémon.

That was the origin legend, according to the book Scarlett was reading. Setting it down on the tartan blanket, she cast her eyes over the strange runes scribed into the ancient stone walls of the Relic Castle.

Scarlett was eight-years-old, tall for her age but daintily built. One long strand of her mousy brown hair twirled over her shoulder while two more reached down her back. Her eyes were huge and expressive, a mixture of steel grey and sapphire blue, as they scanned the lines of symbols that had once represented letters. Everything about her was undeniably cute.

This was the third day of the excavation Scarlett's parents were involved in. A majority of that time had been dedicated to dusting off and deciphering the words written on this first room they had uncovered while an experienced digging team assessed whether it would be safe to venture deeper into the underbelly of the castle.

'You want to hear something funny, Scarlett?' her mother Sapphire – who everyone called Saffy – asked her as she dusted away the caked on sand on the walls. She went on as her daughter wordlessly smiled and nodded, 'The room we are in right now is actually the top floor of the castle. See, over the last thousand years or so, the sandstorms outside have completely immersed it. So this could have been one of the royal family's chambers or a council room, rather than an entrance hall.'

The young mother kneeled next to Scarlett, pointing to it excitedly.

'I've finally managed to work out what this particular wall is saying,' she told her, her eyes burning brightly. 'Shall I tell you what it says?'

Scarlett smiled weakly and nodded again.

Picking her up, Sapphire Stone carried her only daughter over to the wall in question and instructed her to point at the very first symbol in the line as she read out what it said.

'Twenty-fourth year of his reign, King Kyureus the First completed this castle and made it his home along with his wife Orla, the twin princes Reshirus and Zekerus, his sole daughter the Princess Viktoria and their beloved dragon Pokémon—'

Scarlett scowled. In place of where the old dragon Pokémon's name should be, the stone was scratched out leaving the sentence to end abruptly. The gash in the wall was too large and smooth to be the cracks of age, having a distinct feeling of purpose.

She looked at her mother, she having left a meaningful pause after her finger found the chiselled out word.

'Weird, isn't it?' Saffy agreed. 'The Pokémon's name was almost certainly rubbed out on purpose.'

She placed Scarlett down onto the ground again.

'That means that Uncle Hawes's theory might be correct,' Saffy went on, turning back to the wall. 'This was probably a record room of some kind where the people who lived here kept their history. But after the Greyest Day, the name of that dragon Pokemon must have been erased by whichever Prince controlled this castle…'

Scarlett knew. On the first day they arrived at the Desert Resort, she had watched her Uncle Hawes attempt to analyse one of the broken pillars that surrounded the old citadel. It itself was flanked by odd statues of Pokémon that her mother had told her were Darmanitan. After three hours, Hawes had the translation. It simply said, _"We are the Guardians to the Castle of Truth."_ That indicated without a doubt that after the King's death, it was Prince Reshirus who controlled the founding city.

Saffy patted her head affectionately. 'These ruins… we have only recently got permission to dig down to its depths. Beneath there we could find a wealth of knowledge that has been lost to Unova for thousands of years…'

Her eyes gleamed again.

'Isn't that exciting, Scarlett?'

She offered her a slightly brighter smile than her previous one.

'Who knows?' Saffy continued, walking back towards the area where she had been sitting. She started to pick up Scarlett's books, pencils and discarded go-go goggles. They were on the move again. 'Perhaps, deep down in this place, we really will finally find the greatest treasure of them all. Your Daddy will be so excited!'

She stopped still, staring blankly into space.

'I… hope _they_ really are here,' Saffy added.

Her words trailed off.

Scarlett felt a flitter of happiness. It had been a while since she had seen her father smile. Being on a dig, underground and unearthing stones and history was his happy place. Of course, Scarlett also knew that the reason her mother had managed to twist her father's arm into coming along on this dig was the possibility that they might be about to unearth one of the long lost wonders of Unova's history: the Dragonstones.

No one loved rocks and stones more than Steven Stone, and Saffy wanted nothing more than to see that fire in his eyes if – or hopefully _when_ – they uncovered those priceless treasures.

'Come on, Scarlett,' Saffy sighed. 'Let's see how everyone else is doing...'

* * *

That evening Scarlett listened silently to the adults debate at length about the days discoveries. While she had been keeping her mother company analysing the wall scribes, her Aunt Lenora had been trying to uncover more Darmanitan "statutes" that had been buried in the sands.

'Unfortunately the sandstorm worsened as we were working,' Lenora explained with an exasperated sigh. 'I was concerned that I might have disturbed a Sandile nest, it was so strong.'

Uncle Hawes poured out some more tea from a beaker.

'Nonetheless we definitely found evidence of the old city hidden beneath the sands,' Hawes added. 'The Darmanitan statutes are just scratching the surface of what once lay here.'

'"Fossils", darling,' Lenora corrected him with a gentle stroke on the cheek. 'Darmanitan "fossils" are just scratching the surface.'

'Fossils?' Steven Stone queried, his interest piqued.

Lenora grinned, 'Yes. I have reason to believe that they are the fossilised remains of Zen Form Darmanitan. They were likely the palace guards.'

'But… how could they have been fossilised that way?' Saffy asked. 'Surely they wouldn't have stayed up there like that for hundreds of years while the sandstorm slowly swallowed the valley?'

There was a glint in Lenora's eyes. 'If we presume it was a slow process, then yes…'

Steven and Saffy looked at each other.

'So the theories piloted by Cedric Juniper might be true?' Steven chuckled, leaning forward keenly as he took in all the facts of the day.

Scarlett's large eyes were focused on the handsome face of her father, smiling. Soon he would be turning thirty-six and he still had the same chiseled, almost unchanged face since his days as the league champion of Hoenn. Their family had moved to Unova when Scarlett was a baby so she didn't remember life in Hoenn much, apart from one-off visits. Even then, her mother was actually Johtonese by heritage. Scarlett had never been there. On reflection, she really had lived a pretty sheltered life.

Lenora tapped the side of her nose knowingly. 'Indeed, it seems entirely possible that this place truly was once a green and pleasant oasis that was suddenly and unexpectedly hit by a massive sandstorm that completely obliterated everything.'

'The question is how…?' Hawes muttered under his breath.

Scarlett cleared her throat. Everyone looked at her expectantly. She had barely spoken since they had arrived at the dig, or for the last few months before that. As a result, every sound she made was worthy of attention.

'What is it, honey?' her father asked.

Scarlett looked down at the cloth floor of the tent and then back at the adults. The question she had was stuck right there, at the front of her brain but she couldn't push it out of her mouth.

So she turned to Mel.

The gloriously powerful Blaziken hen nodded kindly and smiled through her razor sharp beak. She was the star of her mother's active team. Melaine, or Mel for short, was a pretty well-adjusted Pokémon with a fierce temper when she reached the end of her tether. Very occasionally that was even directed towards Scarlett, who was prone to naughty behavior once in a while. It was hard for the Pokémon not to "mother hen" the little girl that was her mistress's sole child.

She then turned to Saffy.

"We were chatting about it earlier," Mel told her mistress. "Scarlett wondered if anyone has found any evidence of the dragonstones yet or whether they are even here?"

'Apparently Scarlett wants to know about the legend of the dragon stones and why we think they're here,' Saffy translated.

Scarlett cleared her throat again, deciding to speak up. 'No one...' came her tiny voice, 'has even seen the dragonstones…but they're supposed to be buried here, right?'

Her voice trailed off.

'For over a thousand years, yes,' Steven confirmed.

According to Dr. Cedric Juniper – one of the pioneers on Pokémon during this historical period – the two ruling families struggled through ongoing wars following the break-up of the Kingdom of Unova. It was around that time that the dragon stones were sealed away – why and how is not known.

'Then couldn't they have been... stolen?' Scarlett finished.

Lenora took that question. 'You mean how is it that tomb raiders haven't tried to take them? Well, that's because the location of the stones is deep below ground level today in an area that is probably swarming with strong Ghost Pokémon. Most of the Relic Castle is simply too dangerous to explore.'

'There are even rumours of a powerful Solar deity living in the underbelly of the castle,' Steven added with a thoughtful smile. 'Buried under there for thousands of years…'

That was a funny thought; that a whole castle _and_ a god being buried under sand. Funny and a little sad too as Scarlett was certain it must have been a beautiful place in its prime.

Saffy pulled out a book from her bag. It was filled with sketches that Dr. Juniper had mocked up, showing how he suspected the castle would have looked based on other buildings from the era, such as Dragonspiral Tower and the Abyssal Ruins. None had been fully explored due to the dangerous circumstances surrounding the buildings but they all helped to paint a picture of how the people and Pokémon lived back then.

Steven smiled, 'There it is! Good old "_Lost to Time: A Search for the Dragonstones of the Twin Heroes"_, my favourite book from university.'

'Ditto,' Saffy giggled.

'A little outdated, don't you think?' Lenora noted.

'But a most exciting read,' Steven protested. 'And I think a lot of his theories are still true, even if research students like you have come to question it!'

His tone was jovial. Lenora threw her head back laughing, 'Is that so, _Dr._ Stone? Well, I, Lenora Birch challenge thee to a dual on the matter!'

'I see. Shall we battle with our wits,' Steven asked suavely, and he withdrew a Pokeball from his belt, 'or our Pokémon?'

'My Normal types against your mighty Aggron? I think we had better settle this with our words. If my thesis is to be perfect I must be able to counter and hypotheses every theory I can.'

'Geology versus palaeontology, this should be interesting!' Steven agreed.

Saffy and Hawes looked to each other, chuckling nervously. They always enjoyed a good discussion about Pokémon and human history, but when either Steven or Lenora got to talking about the nitty-gritty stuff, it was time to start a new conversation. They were step-siblings, after all, and had been raised among explorers, professors and scientists all their lives as well as being married to one each respectfully, so they knew the drill.

For Scarlett's part, her eyes were focused on the Pokéball her father was holding. She smiled at the Pokémon who sat inside it, Maximus the Aggron, who in turn winked at her through the lid. She reached out to take it from her father's hands, which he gladly handed to her with a quick smile, now engrossed in a conversation about meteor showers and whether it was possible for them to have caused the Relic Castle to be buried.

Holding the ball in both hands, Scarlett tapped the button and unleashed the massive beast within. Stretching his arms he growled a very loud, "Argawr!" before taking a big sigh and sitting down on his buttocks with a very loud clang.

Mel rolled her eyes, "Do you always have to make such a racket?"

"I like to make an entrance," he pouted before turning to Scarlett with an almost fatherly smile. He was the second-in-command of Steven's team after Graphene the Metagross, who had been left at home with the rest of the Pokémon to run the household.

He picked up one of Scarlett's sandwiches and swallowed it whole.

That warranted another roll of the eyes from Mel and a giggle from Scarlett.

'Did you get a chance to do some digging today, Max?' Scarlett asked.

"To hell I did!" he huffed miserably. "I spent most of today waiting for the big moment but then Steven only let me out at lunch. 'Tomorrow, buddy, I promise!' he said. 'We'll get permission to dig further down, tomorrow.' Frustrating! Why are they waiting around? Don't they want to find this damned rock?"

"Stone," Mel corrected.

"Whatever," Max grumbled. "Either way, I prefer it when me and Steven go solo. These restrictions from health and safety-type humans just cramp our style..."

'I think Daddy is worried there might be a cave-in,' Scarlett told him. 'There is a lot of quicksand here too.'

"I am a Mon of Steel!" Max declared proudly. "A little sand doesn't scare me!"

"It will when you get stuck and it causes you to suffocate, you big lug!" Mel said curtly.

Scarlett snickered again as Max tried to come up with something smart to say… but failed. Instead his gleaming grey skin turned a little red as he blushed angrily, irritated to have been out crowed by the fire type. Oh, they liked each other really – they just had a little rivalry when it came to fieldwork. It made Scarlett happy to listen to them though, whether they were bickering or agreeing with each other.

From the side, Saffy watched her daughter.

'She's still a bit quiet, isn't she?' Hawes observed. 'But at least she seems happy with the Pokémon.'

'Yeah...' Saffy agreed slowly. 'I just wish she would talk to us more. I worry about whether she is recovering at all.'

'Is she still seeing that specialist?'

'Yes.'

'And what were their thoughts?'

'That we should encourage her to open up to the Pokémon, if she doesn't feel ready to talk to us about it yet,' she said solemnly.

'Well, maybe they're right,' Hawes nodded. 'It's not like _you_ can't find out what she's been talking to them about.' And he leaned in to say the rest, 'That is pretty amazing for you in itself.'

Saffy chewed her cheek awkwardly. It had been _that_ ability that caused the problem in the first place!

'Please don't say that in front of Steven!' she begged.

'Why not?'

There were many reasons "why not".

'Because Steven still hasn't forgiven his father,' Saffy said bluntly. 'Worse still, he blames himself for what happened… what _nearly_ happened...'

She glanced over to her husband and sister-in-law, completely engrossed in their conversation. Seeing him smile warmed Saffy's heart, distracting her from the painful memories of the previous year. She wished they could all just move on from it even if they couldn't forget but the damage was done.

'It's like with Scarlett,' Saffy finally continued. 'I don't want him to be reminded of any of that. Not now when he's so happy. Steven has always been happiest buried deep underground with rocks and history filling his mind. Coming here has helped him a lot and it has helped Scarlett too. For the first time in forever she seems content.'

Hawes wasn't sure he liked the sound of that. 'Alright, but...'

'But...?'

'I don't think it is fair on you to take the emotional toll all the time,' her stepbrother said simply.

'I don't know what you mean.'

'I mean exactly that,' Hawes said firmly. 'You make yourself a pillar for Steven and Scarlett to lean on… but what do you do when _you_ need support? You gave up everything for them already.'

A silent moment went by.

'Just don't be afraid to ask for help now and then,' Hawes finished. 'I'm still your brother. Nora and I are always gonna help if you need us.'

Saffy smiled gratefully. It meant a lot for her little stepbrother to say it but she didn't want him to get any bad ideas about the state of her relationship with her immediate family.

'I don't see it as "giving up" anything. Oh, you wouldn't know the whole story – being only a kid when it all went down – but he suffered through a lot for my sake too. We've never taken anything from each other without giving in return. As for Scarlett...'

Her voice trailed off as she turned to look at her again. She was smiling, thank Arceus!

'Well, just wait 'til you have kids yourself, Hawes,' she concluded. 'You'll know then.'

* * *

Scarlett arose with the sun. Cushioned between Max and Mel, she lifted her head and stretched her limbs to see her parents' bunk was already vacant. On this trip they had taken to letting her sleep in while they prepared their plans for the day and decided whether or not it was safe for her to go with them. Normally, it was and she would go with her mother. As much as Scarlett wished she could see her father work, Steven was still weary of letting an eight-year-old follow him into deep cave systems. She wanted to go with him – just once – for a change but she knew he would say no if she asked.

All she could hope for was a detailed report and perhaps a look at any interesting specimens he found.

It was still just wishful thinking that he might actually find the dragon stones on the first day down below. At best he would be looking for any indication or inscription suggesting they were there at all. So, chances were Saffy would be accompanying him today to help him decipher them, meaning that Scarlett could look forward to a boring day at camp by herself.

Even Mel and Max would be going along, she reckoned.

Scarlett hoped when she was older they would allow her to take a more active part in the digging and exploration. From an early age she had watched her father as he proudly displayed the beautiful and fascinating objects he harvested from the earth. Whether they were related to Pokémon or not Steven managed to make everything sound magical. Gems, rocks, stones, minerals and fossils, each remarkable piece was a treasure to be marveled at and her father proudly displayed them all in glass cases at their home in Nuvema Town. All the colours of the rainbow.

'We will probably be gone for most of the day,' Steven told his daughter tentatively as they prepared to head down to where the digging was taking place. 'Will you be alright here on your own?'

Scarlett lowered her head, saying nothing. It was the most underwhelming nod she could muster.

'Hey, hey, look at me,' she heard her father say. He placed his hand under her chin, forcing her to look up. Their matching grey eyes met and he smiled warmly. It was impossible for Scarlett to keep pouting. He seemed pleased that she was less upset now. 'How about I make a promise?' he continued. 'If Mommy and I get down there and it's safe, you can come and take a look?'

That cracked her face into a smile.

Chuckling, Steven tapped her nose and stood up straight. He towered over her, making Scarlett feel very fragile.

From behind him, Saffy shook her head. 'Bribing her, are we?' she said, her tone affectionately teasing.

He turned to her.

'Well, if it does turn out to be safe, there's no reason why she can't take a look,' Steven replied, and then turned to Scarlett. 'But only if it is one hundred and ten percent safe, okay?'

The child nodded again, keeping her smile. She mentally prayed that the underground of the castle would be one hundred _and twenty_ percent safe.

Quietly, she watched them both turn to leave.

'When I'm grown up…' she began, under her breath.

Steven and Saffy immediately stopped in their tracks and turned. 'What was that, honey-cobee?' Steven asked hopefully, again making any utterance from Scarlett's lips into some great event.

Raising her head proudly, Scarlett spoke a little louder.

'When I'm grown-up I'm going to be an explorer,' she announced. 'Then, I'll be able to explore down there all I want.'

Her parents looked at each other, then back at her.

'If that's what you want to do, sweetie,' Saffy nodded. 'But for now, be a good girl for the other researchers back here at camp, alright?'

Scarlett sighed, lowering her head again. 'Yes, Mommy.'

Saffy walked towards her child, knelt down and embraced the slender child that looked not unlike herself at the age of eight. Times like this, when she saw that determination in her baby's eyes really struck it home to her that Scarlett was getting older and wiser day by day. In just ten short years, she will be old enough to do what she wished; have adventures and, more importantly, have Pokémon to share them with.

Just then, Saffy realised her satchel bag was floating besides her head. Looking up she saw Mel holding it, keenly beckoning her to take it. As she did, she noticed the spine of one of the books inside.

She and Mel shared a look.

"I think she'll like it," Mel told Saffy.

Scarlett's mother nodded and pulled the aforementioned book from her bag, handing it to her daughter. 'Here, sweetie,' she began. 'You remember that book Daddy and Auntie Lenora were talking about?'

She nodded.

'Well, how would you like to have a look through it?' Saffy suggested, and she opened the book to one of the dog-eared pages to show her. Scarlett's eyes glanced briefly at the notes her mother had scribbled over the page, most barely legible to her. 'Some of the words might be a little hard,' Saffy went on, 'but it's really well-written. Professor Juniper wrote it. That is… the elder Juniper.'

Scarlett took the book, hugging it too her chest and nodded.

'Thank you, Mommy,' she said with a tiny smile.

Saffy leaned forward to place a kiss on her cheek. 'We'll see you later, sweetie.'

A hollow emptiness rattled through Scarlett's chest as she watched her parents walk away. Her father gave her a wink before he turned to leave but the sadness of not being able to go with them remained. It was even harder to be left without even Mel or Max to keep her company but... they were needed by her parents.

She looked down at the well-read, well-loved and well-_old_ book. The feel of it in her hands was nice; the type of book that could be bent, twisted and flicked through as rough as you liked and it wouldn't hurt or damage it. Scarlett suspected this book had even been dropped once or twice in the bath. Even the smell was nice - the organic scent of condensation and moss etched into the yellowing pages. She opened it to give it a proper sniff. Both her parents had always taught her to appreciate the smell of books, both freshly printed and decades-old tomes.

The book naturally fell open slap bang in the middle where the spine threatened to give out. It was the part that contained the glossy pages photographs were printed on. They were the only sections of the book that were still white yet they were by far the most vulnerable to being lost as Scarlett noted the pages were close to coming loose.

She sat cross legged on her cot as she looked at the pictures on the page. One in particular caught her eye. It was of a tapestry that Scarlett vaguely remembered seeing on a school trip to a fancy old mansion in Black City a year ago. It depicted the image of two dragons – a beautiful, dainty and regal white one and a glorious, handsome and dignified black one – who were key to the legends surrounding the founding of Unova. She looked at the caption below:

_Zekrom (left) and Reshiram (right) were often depicted as an allegory for faith and tradition. This tapestry dates to around 500 years ago and was probably made during the Third Great War. (Courtesy of the Cadentia Estate)_

There was one thing that Scarlett was curious about, though. How did the Dragonstones relate to the legend of Reshiram and Zekrom? She flipped over to the index to see if there was anything written about it. Running her finger down the column under "D" to see if Cedric Juniper had any idea.

Dragonstones, The

origins, 5, **25**, 78...

Scarlett flipped to the page that was highlighted and underlined in red pen. It was clear her mother must have looked this up at some point in the past. After she had achieved all she could as a Pokémon Trainer by dominating the Hoenn League, she had studied Pokémon History at university. That much Scarlett knew. She had already been dating her dad by then. He was at the start of his PhD at the same time.

Her eyes scanned the page, noting all the highlights and tiny pencil scribbles along the margins. The words were a little hard to read and the structure of the sentences complex, but Scarlett flowed as well as she could.

_The purpose of the Dragonstones remain something of a mystery to us today. Due to many of the ancient records being lost through [something] wars - including the Great Forest Fire which [something] the original Nacrene Library - we are limited to temple [something] and [something] for the moment part..."_

Scarlett scowled. If only I had a dictionary with me, she thought.

She was concentrating so strongly on the old book in front of her that she barely noticed the new presence in the tent. There were other site workers muttering and moving about outside but she wasn't paying attention to any of it, so she didn't register the silent creature as it hovered above her head, watching her curiously. Not until she felt a shiver. With a small gasp, Scarlett chose to pull a blanket around her. Weird, she thought.

"Hmm, that looks like an interesting book..."

Scarlett's head snapped up straight away. 'Huh?!'

The odd strange, dark-grey goul Pokémon was surprised too, throwing her long limp arms back and staring down at the young girl, mouth gaping. They look at each other for a while before the monster finally relaxed her limbs and blinked quizzically at the wide-eyed child. Scarlett remembered what this one was called now. Yamask.

"Y-you understood me... just now?"

Scarlett's eyes were fixated on the golden death-mask clutched in the Pokémon's single thin leg. She heard her friend Cheren's voice in her head, whispering in her ear the facts about Yamask: _Ghost Pokemon. Number sixty-eight in the Unova Dex. Apparently, according to legend, they are the souls of dead humans unable to pass over to the Otherworld_. In many pictures the mask of Yamask tended to be gaunt and miserable looking. This one was different. It was a beautiful, distinctly happy feminine face.

The Yamask giggled, somersaulting cheerfully where she hovered. "Stop staring like that! Come on and answer me!" and she gave Scarlett with a curious look. "You can understand me, can't you?"

She nodded slowly.

Another burst of laughter broke out from the ghost's lips as she zoomed down to face Scarlett properly. "That is a-MAZ-ing! I can't tell you how refreshing it is to meet someone like you! You have no idea how long it has been since I last met a human like you. Or any human at all, for that matter… Are all the humans here at the moment like you?"

'Um, I don't think so,' Scarlett said slowly, still feeling a little weary of this odd Pokémon. She felt different from other Pokémon she had met. Maybe there really was something in the legend about them being former humans but it felt rude to ask if it was true. 'There is my mom,' she continued. 'And I don't know about those people out there but... as far as I know, it is only Mommy and me.'

The Yamask folded her slender arms and huffed in a pouty manner. "That's disappointing. It's been a long time since I spoke to a real human."

'How come?' Scarlett asked.

"Well, obviously, I've been buried under the sand for the last – gosh, how long has it been now? – probably at least one thousand years..." Yamask said flippantly. "I can't be sure right now. Everything looks so strange. Those humans have all those thin, odd books with light coming off them and long metallic branches with plates attached to the bottom… so Arceus knows how much time has passed!"

It was hard not to smirk. 'Those are laptops,' Scarlett said, referring to the books, 'and those branches with plates attached to them, I think you mean the metal detectors.'

"Hmm," Yamask said, humming in interest. "They barely seem real to me. How long have you been using those things, then?"

Scarlett shrugged, barely qualified to say how long computers or metal detectors had been around. 'I don't know. A pretty long time.' Of course, even a decade seemed long to Scarlett. She could barely conceive how much had changed over a millennium. 'So, do you remember when the castle was buried?'

"I can't really remember much of anything," Yamask said, tilting her head to one side, as if thinking. As if her arms were made of smoke they picked up her mask and she looked down at it thoughtfully. "Even when I look at this thing, I can't really remember much. So, I can't say whether I changed into a Yamask when the castle was buried or before that..." She let it go and it automatically snapped back onto her tiny, little foot. "I don't think I _want_ to remember."

Scarlett felt a little guilty. She _knew_ asking about her possible death was a rude question. 'I'm sorry; I didn't mean to upset you.'

"Hahaha!" Yamask burst out laughing, doing a complete turnaround on her mood. She twirled around in the air, playing keepie-uppie with her supposedly precious mask. "Oh, you didn't make me feel sad or anything!" she assured the girl. "I'm more frustrated than anything. I think that's the thing that's keeping me here, in a way..." She threw the mask up in the air one more time before she finally stopped. "But I'm just speculating about that."

She floated down towards Scarlett again, extending her hand to her.

"My name is Yasmin," Yamask finally told her. "What's yours?"

'Scarlett Stone,' she replied politely, taking the hand. It felt weird. It was like holding dense smoke, completely light but still physical enough to feel. 'My parents are part of the excavation team here at the moment.'

"I saw them," Yasmin said. "They seem nice. But you looked so sad to be left behind here while they went out to the castle today."

The child looked down sadly.

'It is dangerous,' Scarlett sighed, although she supposed it wasn't _too_ dangerous else the surveyors wouldn't have allowed her parents to go down there to begin with. 'They're just worried about me.'

"That's fair enough," Yasmin agreed. She floated to beside Scarlett's shoulder to look at the book lying discarded in her lap. The words seemed strange to her but a few were still recognisable. "This tome seems peculiar," she commented. "What's it about?"

Scarlett brought her knees up to balance the book a little higher for Yasmin to see. Although, on reflection, she could have just hovered a little closer...

'It's an old book my mom gave me,' Scarlett explained. 'I don't understand a lot of it but it has some good pictures in it. Maybe you could read it...?'

Yasmin took another look before hissing doubtfully. "Huh. I see. Well, I'm not going to lie; a lot of these words don't make sense to me. I suppose it really must have been a thousand years since I was last on the surface. The language you people use today is pretty different; you've butchered good Unovian."

A thought then occurred to Scarlett.

'What about the alphabet?' she asked her. 'You recognise it, right?'

"Well, yes," Yasmin shrugged. "It is one of two that we used. The other is the one written on the walls of the castle, though even that was going out of fashion from what little I remember of back then." She thought for a moment, "I couldn't even tell you if it was before or after I became a Yamask..."

'So, you really are a...?' Scarlett couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence.

But Yasmin guessed the question. "A human, you mean? Um, again I'm not sure. I assume so given this mask I carry is that of a human." She looked at the mask again. "There is one thing I do remember though and it's partly the reason why your tome caught my eye."

'What?'

She pointed to one particular word on the page, extending one of her fingers to underline it. Scarlett felt her heart thud in her chest. Dragonstones. Her eyes lit up. 'You know about the Dragonstones, Yasmin?!'

"It is one of the few words that seems unchanged," she observed. "It's also one of the few things I remember from back when, I suppose, I was a human. The Dragonstones... I remember them. Well, one of them. I used to look after it back in the day..." and she paused for a moment before adding uncertainly, "Um, I think."

It was clear that for a baseline one-thousand-year old Pokémon, Yasmin was a little ditsy. She was also unbelievably jolly for a dead monster who had been locked away under the sand for countless centuries. Therefore Scarlett could hardly blame her for being a little forgetful of things. From the way Yasmin spoke too, she sounded like she must have been quite young when she passed – not a child but certainly not an adult.

She wondered how Yasmin had past the time all these years. Still, that she knew of the Dragonstones and hinted that at least one of them was here seemed promising for her father.

'Daddy has been studying the whereabouts of the Dragonstones for ages,' Scarlett explained, eagerly hoping that she could gleam some information from this Pokémon that she could pass onto her dad. Maybe then her parents would be more willing to take her along? 'Do you know where you might have last seen them?'

Yasmin looked pensive again, as if she was trying really hard to remember. For her, she was just excited to be talking to a living, breathing human. What little she remembered of time after her death, meeting what few humans she had, she could not remember them being able to do this. She herself could not remember being able to communicate with Pokémon before she became a Yamask. Then again, her mind really was hazy. It all melded together. Longevity did that to anyone – or any_mon_.

"W-_ell_," she said slowly, bringing up what fragmented thoughts she could recall that involved stone-like objects. "I think I remember an altar somewhere in the catacombs of the castle. Oh, right. I just came from there." She giggled to herself again before going on, "But I remember it being brighter than it is now. There were torches and Darmanitan lining the hall leading to the altar..."

'So, the stone was kept in the... cata-_comes_?_' _Scarlett repeated, garbling the word she was unfamiliar with.

Yasmin chuckled. "Cata_combs_! That's where we keep our de—" she stopped right there. She didn't want to say that word. It felt almost like a taboo. Even Scarlett had noticed that she had not once referred to herself as 'dead' or having 'died' as opposed to turning into a Pokémon. Yasmin continued, "Um, that's where we kept the remains of those who had passed over. The remains of the Great Reshirus are down there."

Scarlett wondered if Reshirus, the prince of ancient times, had also turned into a Yamask after his death. Still, she did not ask. She wanted to be careful. Death was one of the few things Yasmin seemed sensitive about.

"In any case there are only ghosts and fossils down there now," Yasmin went on. "Nothing too exciting, to be honest."

Scarlett's heart sank, 'So, you mean the dragonstone isn't there anymore?'

"Well, there _is_ a stone there," the Pokémon said solicitously before seemingly laughing it off. "But it can't be the stone you're looking for. This stone, last time I saw it, which was sometime this morning, is a dull old thing. Nothing special about it at all. Nope, the stone I remember in the prettier, shiner memory was very different. It used to glow a brilliant white."

'Couldn't it just be that the stone as it is now is just… dusty?' Scarlett asked hopefully.

Yasmin shrugged a little flippantly. "Um, it's possible." Then she chuckled to herself again, "I suppose it wouldn't have got much in the way of cleaning in the last thousand years or so—WAIT!" The Pokémon squealed hauntingly as she zoomed around Scarlett in a dizzying circle, tossing her mask around again. "Why don't I show you it?!"

Scarlett's eyes bulged.

'S-show me? How?'

"I'll take you there, of course!" Yasmin said. "Come on! I promise it's not dangerous. Not the way I came in any case…"

'But Mommy and Daddy—'

If her parents caught her snooping around the castle unsupervised, there would be no bounds to their fury. Giratina! They would probably never take her with them on a dig again. She would probably be sent to stay with relatives or with Cheren or Bianca's parents (if she was lucky). Even with this excitable Yamask tapping the top of her head, she wasn't sure it was worth the risk.

Then again, if she found a Dragonstone and took it to Daddy, wouldn't he be happy to finally have it?

"There's another way down!" Yasmin said ecstatically. "It took me a very long time to find it myself. No adult human could get through it, either. But you, you're small enough being only a little girl. You'll fit through, no problem. I can lead you straight to it!"

A small smile began to creep across Scarlett's face. Deep inside she knew it was wrong to agree, to go along with this Pokémon she had just met into some catacomb-thing… but then again Scarlett had never met a Pokémon who wished true harm on a human being. When a Pokémon said something was safe, they meant it. It was like an honour code. That was how Mel, Max and the others put it, in any case. Yasmin exuded innocence and sincerity.

'D-do you think it'll take long?' Scarlett asked tentatively.

"No, no, no!" Yasmin beamed. "Once you get through the little hole, it leads to a staircase and it goes all the way down, straight to the altar room." And she gently pulled at a strand of Scarlett's hair, "I promise! If it was dangerous, I wouldn't suggest it."

At that moment, a thought occurred to Scarlett.

'Couldn't you just… pick up the stone and bring it to me?'

A shadow seemed to fall over Yasmin's face. "Oh, I… I couldn't possibly! No Pokémon can remove the stone. Besides, it looks really, really heavy! These may look like muscular arms," she muttered, waving her arms in a 360 degree gesture, "but manipulating objects is really hard for us Ghost-types."

Scarlett nodded. She thought about it for one more moment, then finally smiled. 'Well, if you're sure it's okay for me to see it?'

"Of course!" Yasmin said excitedly, and she speedily floated towards the tent entrance. "This'll be so much fun! It's been ages since I've spoken to a human who could speak to Pokémon. Oh, you can tell me more about what the world is like now! It might help me work out how long it really has been. You've roused my curiosity!"

While the cheerful Pokémon nattered on, Scarlett rushed over to her travel bag to pull out her sunhat, gloves, running shoes and go-go goggles. Finally, she placed her mother's book neatly on her bed and turned to Yasmin while she was still speaking. 'Okay, show me the way. We'll have to be quiet, though – those researchers can't catch me trying to leave camp…'

With a determined nod, Yasmin agreed and floated to beside Scarlett's head as they headed out into the heat of the desert sun.

They quietly walked a small way outside. Just a few metres away Scarlett noticed a group of her father's colleagues huddled around a small table, pointing at a map. Thankfully they had their backs to her and sneaking past them was easy. To her surprise, there really weren't many people or Pokémon left in camp. In the distance, Scarlett could see specks of people buzzing around the main entrance to the Ruins. Quite a lot of them must have gone along with her parents today. It made Scarlett feel a little jealous and then smug. Hopefully she would get to the Dragonstone before they did.

Yasmin pointed a little further yonder. "This way, Scarlett Stone! I came out this way!"

Scarlett nodded, 'You can just call me "Scarlett", Yasmin.'

The Pokémon gave no answer and instead floated further and further away from the camp sight. Thanks to her go-go goggles, Scarlett could still see where she was going as if she was swimming through water. Well, perhaps not quite as clear. Fortunately the sandstorms were quiet today. She was careful to look where she was going, wanting to ensure she didn't step on a Sandile nest or something.

After five or so more minutes of walking, Yasmin stopped and hovered over a small point.

"Here, here!" she cried quickly, pointing down. "This is where I came out. You'd better hurry!"

Scarlett ran as cautiously as she could, sand flying up. Eventually she made it to a small cave-like opening. It looked dark black and bottomless. A quick glance around let Scarlett know that this spot was well out of the way, so it was not surprising the team had not noticed it yet. It looked more like a crevice in the sand than an entrance to the Relic Castle.

She looked at Yasmin. 'Are you sure it's safe?'

"Positively safe. Come on!" Yasmin assured her, darting down into the darkness.

Scarlett got on her hands and knees. 'But I can't see!'

Without a word, she saw a flare light up in the darkness. It was Yasmin's Will-o-wisp. As soon as she did it, it revealed that the distance from the straight-down entrance to the floor was not that far. Yasmin reappeared at the opening, "Are you coming?"

After one last, brief second-thought, Scarlett nodded and gently sat on the lip of the cave to slip down. Even as she did it, she knew that if everyone realised she was gone, they would all panic. She hoped it didn't take too long and that she could sneak back before it came to that.

Landing with a light thud on the sand floor, Scarlett got to her feet and looked around. It was a very plain room she was in, no marking on the walls at all. This really was a back entrance to the castle.

Yasmin held her Will-o-wisp in her hands and floated towards the staircase. "It's this way," she said quietly, concentrating on her fire. "Come on!"

Scarlett swallowed the lump in her throat and headed down the first flight of stairs.

At the back of her mind she kept asking herself if it could be this simple. Was the Dragonstone her parents wanted to find really just a "stone-throw away", down these ancient steps? If it was, this was going to be easy. Even if she was caught, if she could bring back the Dragonstone to her parents then they couldn't stay angry with her for long, could they? Thinking this is what pushed Scarlett forward despite her uncertainty.

Even at that moment, she couldn't help but feel she was about to discover more than just the Dragonstone.

* * *

Deep beneath the cliffs better known as "Victory Road", there was an unknown system of underground caves buried out of sight. Few knew those caves were there, let alone what there was to find down there. In ancient times, it was said the cliffs hosted the final confrontation of the Twin Heroes – Reshirus and Zekerus – and thus it was considered to be the perfect place to build the Pokémon League.

It was also the perfect place for a symbolic coronation.

In the throne room illuminated only by the fires of lanterns, a small gathering of people watched the ancient ceremony, lost to Unovians for nearly two-hundred years now. There were eleven participants in all: seven wise sages, two beautiful vestals and a young prince. It was the perfect recreation of the coronation of the Twin Heroes.

All eyes fell on the youngest of the Sages as he stood before the throne and held his arms up high. Grasped in one hand, he held a crown aloft. He would be the one to swear in the Prince. Once he had said his peace, the crowd's eyes then fell on the tall, slender figure make his way down the aisle between them.

He was very young, too young to rule. It would be another ten years before he would be ready to fulfil his destiny. Until then, he would be prepared for his role and honoured for what he was: the Heir to Unova and the Two Dragon Pokémon.

As he walked along, the boy seemed distant. Nothing felt real around him nor did he seem real to those who looked upon him. He was as haunting as a spectre and as fragile as glass. Yet he would have to find some inner strength. He would have to be _their_ King.

Kneeling before the youngest Sage, all listened to the final incantation as the crown hung loftily above the eleven-year-old's head.

This is the beginning of a vital journey, the boy thought resolutely. It is one I _cannot_ fail.

* * *

**NOTES**

A lot of the history put forth in this chapter is my own fiction, based on what little we know from the original source material i.e. _Pokémon Black and White_. For those of you who enjoy the nitty-gritty, allow me to go through a couple of the things mentioned in this chapter:

First, the names of the Twin Heroes: Reshirus and Zekerus. Obviously I named these two after the mascot Pokémon for the games. I figured that – considering Reshiram and Zekrom both are two-parts of a single, original Pokémon – it made sense that their respective dragons would be named after them. The same goes for their father, King Kyureus… but there will be an origin story behind the King and his relationship to Kyurem later. The names of the queen and princess are just names I pulled out of a Behind the Name hat.

Second, you will notice throughout this chapter and later chapters that characters will substitute the words "God", "Jesus", "Hell" and "Christ" for the names of Pokémon. Many fic writers for this fandom tend to do the same – Arceus often being used in place of "God" – and I will be no different. To me, this world exists away from our own. In this chapter, I used Giratina in place of "Hell". I did this because "Distortion World" seemed a bit of a mouthful.

Third, any words that have –mon instead of "one" or "body" that is spoken by a Pokémon is not a typo but a quirk I decided they would have in their speech. It has obviously been inspired by how in MLP: FiM, the characters substitute the same words for "pony" – and I have no shame!

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask below.


	2. Chapter 1: Zoe

**Chapter One: Zoe**

Nuvema Town was located on the edge of a high but stable cliff that overlooked the Arceian Ocean – the largest body of water on the planet – separating it by quite some distance from the other regions of the world. Nestled in the south-east of the Unova region, the tiny little settlement was less of a town and more of a hamlet of pristine cottages, immaculately built houses and a Pokémon laboratory. It was both the oldest and newest town in the whole region, being able to trace its history back one thousand years yet having next to nothing to show for it.

The houses that made up the town varied in size: a couple of sweet little homes dating back to the turn of the last century and a collection of larger houses that were more recently built, erected to entice the best and brightest (and wealthiest) people they could, and it succeeded. Most of the property owners in Nuvema were holiday home owners who only ever visited in the summer from their wealthy city apartments, such as Castelia, Nimbasa or Opelucid City. It offered a more hassle-free vacation than Undella Town or Humilau City.

Only three families – without counting the singular occupant of the Pokémon Lab – lived in Nuvema permanently, each one respectfully affluent enough to afford the expense of these quiet (but large) out-of-the-way homes and to ship their children off to the private school in Striaton City five days a week.

The longest staying of these three were the Mori family. Having moved to the area shortly after their daughter was born, they had been a permanent fixture of the Nuvema horizon for over twenty years. Both working in Pokémon medical research, the quiet hamlet offered a clean and peaceful upbringing for little Shauntal and eventually their second born, Cheren. They had watched several holidaying families come and go as well as watched older residence in their twilight years either die or move closer to their offspring. It was only when their baby son was eighteen months old that the second longest-staying family moved into town: the Stone family.

Even to the people of Unova, the name Stone needed no introduction. They were _those_ Stones, direct relatives of Joseph Stone the CEO of Devon Corporations in Hoenn. Once just a teeny-tiny region-wide company, Devon was now a major player in Pokémon technology, Pokéball manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and various other industries that reaped in the profits and allowed the business to flourish. They had just won a massive contract with Unova's own Battle Company, allowing them to manufacture Devon designed Pokéballs and medicines for Unovian consumers. The deal had been overseen by the man who had bought the largest house in Nuvema for his little family - Steven Stone.

When the holiday makers heard that Steven Stone had bought property in Nuvema, the house prices went through the roof. Suddenly, Nuvema was the place to be. It was back in the day when his name as Hoenn Champion was very well known, more so than his academic and personal research into Pokémon geology. Furthermore, it was especially exciting as his wife had recently stepped down as Hoenn Champion herself, undefeated. Sapphire Stone - or May, as she was born - also came from a well respected Pokémon trainer family. Her father Norman was a Gym Leader while her divorcee mother had remarried to Professor Birch, Hoenn's most respected Pokémon Professor. Together with her husband, young daughter (at the same age as Cheren) and their various species of Pokémon, Sapphire even been inspired to publish her popular children's book, _My Family and Other Pok__é__mon_.

The change of scene had been surprisingly easy for the former champions. Having lived in the relatively peaceful city of Mossdeep, it felt nice to move to the even more peaceful town of Nuvema. In Unova, while their names were recognisable, they enjoyed reasonably calm lives away from gawping fans and endless battle challenges. It also provided old friends who were just as famous on the Pokémon battling stage an obscure place to visit, when the trials of being Champion and Elite trainers became to cumbersome. With a home that boasted a large garden and an open-plan living, dining and kitchen area, Steven and Sapphire were the hosts of several small reunion parties during their daughter's childhood. Names such as Cynthia, Daena Cadentia, Blue Oak and even Unova's own Alder had dropped into town on more than one occasion to soak in the natural beauty and ease of life. Wallace, still to this day Steven's best friend, had been one of the most frequent visitors in order to take in the Nimbasa City culture - and the play the role of little Scarlett's godfather as seriously as he could.

Yes, to all and sundry, Scarlett Stone was very much born with a silver spoon in her mouth and the love of Pokémon flowing through her veins. Yet even with all of that wealth and privilege, this little celebrity child was considered an... oddball. Through her earliest years it never caused her much issue as the children at her preschool had very little concept of her parents' fame or the tiny little quirks Scarlett had that would cause her so much isolation as she grew older.

One of these quirks was her ability to speak openly to Pokémon. As early as the age of three, she would claim to understand what the Pidove flocking around on the playground were saying and would speak at length with her parents' Pokémon, as if she was speaking to another human being. The other children found it odd but they indulged it as all children did - as a fantasy, no different from claiming to have an imaginary friend.

Then, Scarlett grew older. While other children put aside childish fictional playmates and made real friends, she would insist that she could still hear the thoughts, feelings and language of the Pokémon she met. _'So what? You saying you're psychic or something?'_ the children would ask skeptically. When she tried to explain how her abilities worked, they would fold their arms and say, _'You're a liar! Pok__é__mon can't speak! You're just making it up!'_

Were it not for the fact that Nina Mori and Saffy Stone had become friends and always encouraged their children to play together, Scarlett might have been left to face the taunting and bullying alone. Thankfully, there was still Cheren. He was not immune to being picked on himself simply on the virtue of needing to wear glasses, but even at that age he was a bright boy and declared proudly to Scarlett's taunters that unless they could _prove_ she was lying, then Scarlett had to be given the benefit of the doubt. He lost a pair of glasses for saying that... and the child who did it ended up with a nosebleed.

As meek as he seemed, Cheren Mori was no pushover. He was a fast runner, winning the 100 metre dash with as much ease as he did at the Regional Junior Chess Championships. By the age of ten, he was past being bully-meat and was lorded as "Whiz Kid".

Even so, Scarlett remained a victim of snide comments only now they were behind her back. By this point she no longer cared. It seemed senseless in hindsight, for her peers not to befriend the wealthy daughter of two Pokémon champions, but for the children there was something about Scarlett that made them feel... _uneasy_. From an outsider point of view, seeing a young girl on her hands and knees in the mud while trying to converse with a wild Lillipup was a little creepy, especially once Scarlett got past the age of eight.

That was when what happened _happened_.

After that Scarlett all but gave up trying to befriend any other child besides Cheren, who had remained resolute and loyal to his oddball friend throughout elementary school and into middle school. It was also towards the end of their primary education that the third family shifted into Nuvema Town all the way from the dingy city of Virbank - the Dubois family.

This equally small family consisted of a hardworking white collar businessman, an equally hardworking PokéMart sales assistant and their adorable little girl, Bianca. She was a little younger than Cheren and Scarlett - about eighteen months between her and the eldest of the two, Cheren - but she was a welcome addition to their tiny little group. While Cheren initially resented being the only boy in the gang, he also found comfort in the fact that the closer they got to Middle School, the more open the options were for him to venture out and make friends with other boys. Of the three, he was the highest achieving in all but Pokémon studies (Scarlett always had him beat there), while Bianca succeeded well in most subjects too despite her flighty personality. As for Scarlett, she was an above average student who never failed but never cared too much about the subjects she disliked. All she had to do, she thought, was succeed well enough to get to university level Pokémon training.

Thankfully, a saving grace was built in town ten years prior to this very day: The Pokémon Laboratory. It had been erected as a research centre by Castelia College, University of Unova and had been headed up from the day of its completion by _Professor_ Aurea Juniper. Having just been made the head of Department of Pokémon Studies, she had been rewarded with the funding and means to study Pokémon to her hearts content in one of the most naturally beautiful towns in the region.

Despite all of this though the most remarkable aspect of running a lab in that tiny little town was watching those three children grow up together. Hand in hand, she would watch little Scarlett lead bright Cheren and cute Bianca out into Route 1 without any fear whatsoever, with one of her parents Pokémon following loyally behind them. Her fascination with the peculiar girl, her friends and the Pokémon she seemed to befriend prompted her to conduct her first study into human and Pokémon interactions. She focused especially on the different relationships between children and Pokémon to how adults interacted with the monsters. Her focus was not just on little Scarlett but especially her friends, Cheren and Bianca. Even at that stage Juniper realised quickly that the young Stone girl was the bridge between her two friends experiencing Pokémon through fresh eyes.

_'Ask any adult over the age of twenty-five or perhaps younger,' _Juniper had written in her introduction to her thesis on the matter,_ 'and they will tell you that children were always warned never to venture into the tall grass lest wild Pok__é__mon attack them.'_

That was the written rule, tested and true. Yet there Scarlett would go fearlessly plunging herself into the unknown. It was only when Mr. Dubois discovered that his little daughter was venturing out into Route 1 with little to no protection that the study was briefly interrupted as he stormed over to the Stone residence and screamed in Steven's face that he was 'careless' to allow the children to wander unprotected in the wild.

Juniper did not witness the interaction first hand but had it relayed to her by Saffy a day later. The half-an-hour long slagging match could be summed up in just one sentence sPokén by Steven as he calmly stood, waiting for Marc Dubois to say his piece. 'Saffy and I just our Pokemon and if I didn't think Scarlett was safe, I would not allow her to go out alone - but she is, so I do.' That was something Mr. Dubois could not understand. Then again, he never truly was at one with Pokémon the way the Stones or the Mori family were

After finishing with Stone, Mr. Dubois had stormed over to Juniper's lab and demanded that all data relating to Bianca be removed from her study. When she explained that she had been given the content of Mrs Dubois, he had he furious. 'What was my wife thinking?! Either way I forbid you to use my daughter like a test Patrat! Shred the files!' Reluctantly she agreed, shredding the data right in front of him.

That was when she changed her approach.

On a personal level, she never forgot the things she learned from watching those three children and the Pokémon. So much so that she put herself out there as an unofficial mentor to the three of them as well as Cheren's sister Shauntel, who had already begun her preparations to gain her Pokémon license. The brilliant girl was already showing progress and received her starter from Juniper shortly after.

That was three years ago, and now it was her little prodigies' turn. Having tutored them whenever they asked - and they asked _a lot_ \- for their final exams, Juniper had been their referee for their application to Castelia, University of Unova to become official Pokémon trainer student researchers. In other words, she had hand picked and recommended them for the prestigious trainer accolade known colloquially as a "Dex Holder". They would be her official student partners to go out into the world and help her gather information about Pokémon habitats as well as the monsters themselves. It was perfect: Cheren was remarkably intelligent, Bianca was curious and dedicated, and Scarlett was... _Scarlett_. With a talent like hers, Juniper knew she would be the envy of every researcher in the field.

With test results back and certificates approved, Juniper finally had the backing she needed to send those three little wonders off on their journey. Her approval from Mrs. Stone, Mrs. Mori and Mrs. Dubois was all she needed to apply for the super rare, highly desirable 'Starter Pokémon' and today, they had arrived from her father who had acquired them for her.

To Aurea Juniper's surprise, they had been delivered not from Flocessy Town where he kept his starters or even his "base" - a term she used in the loosest sense as his bases depended on wherever he was researching, whether it be Dragonspiral Tower, Relic Castle or somewhere else ancient - but an unspecified location. She raised an eyebrow at the "?" under the section that should have displayed his position. She tried to call him on his Xtransceiver but no luck.

_Odd that he could transport Pok__é__mon but not receive calls_, she thought. _Dad, what are you up to now?_

As she withdrew the Pokéballs from the PC, her Minccino, Dolly, hopped up onto the desk to sniff at them. Her face twisted as if puzzled before she bleated something in her own language and promptly began to dust them.

'What's wrong, Dol?' Juniper asked quizzically as she touched the lids of the containers. To her surprise there was a faint coat of dust and soil, as if they had come from a forest. Knowing her father they probably had.

She glanced through the semi-translucent Pokéballs to eye the Pokémon. All three of them were asleep - Snivy, Tepig and Oshawott - and did not seem to notice when she placed them on the scanner to analyse their biology. That was when she discovered they were not hatchlings but at least a year old each. They also had no registered breeder; her father had used his own name and ID for the source.

It was all a bare-faced lie, but why?

Again, knowing Cedric Juniper, it was better not to ask.

Aurea checked them throughly to make sure they had no illnesses or defects. Fortunately, they seemed healthy, strong and very lucky in terms of their natural strengths. The Snivy in particular seemed very interesting, unlike any Snivy she had ever received from her father for new trainers. She was drawn especially to the unique markings on the young female's maple tail. All Pokémon had unique markings just like humans: scars, birthmarks, slight colour differences, just as varied as those between people. However, these markings struck her as different to, say, the Oshawott of the group who appeared to have a noticeable birthmark over his eye or the Tepig's ears, which had finely defined long-hairs standing at the tips like out stretched torches. This Snivy's three-diamond adorned tail almost looked like a... brand.

Sadly, there was no way to tell the meaning.

With a sigh, Aurea switched off her computers and allowed the three Pokémon to sleep on, simply making a note of these distinguishing features on their files to ensure that Scarlett, Cheren and Bianca keep close watch on the growth of these Pokémon's to see if there might be something in these markings, especially the Snivy's.

She picked up Dolly, switched the lights off and made her way around to her living quarters. Tomorrow would be a big surprise for everyone.

Scarlett awoke with a half-realised snore in her throat. Her sight was hazy and her eyelashes sticky from having failed to properly scrub off her make up the night before. _I'm probably covered in pores now_, she thought half-heartedly, not really caring. She would just clean her face... and apply more make-up to cover it. Then again, with the trainer year starting soon, she doubted she would bother to apply make-up much once she was on the road with her Pokémon. She was cute enough on her own to do with out. Besides, who was she going to look good for - her Pokémon? They wouldn't care or judge her, she hoped.

All that thought of make-up, pores and Pokémon made her realise that two heavy bodies were resting against her legs. Blinking the sleep out of her eyes she looked down to see the two hatchlings, Donny and Daisy, pillowing their heads against her thighs. Scarlett smirked, since they popped out of their eggs they had taken a liking to her. That's what you get for being one of the first moving objects a newly hatched Torchic sees. Thankfully, they weren't so daft as to not realise that it was the Blaziken, Melaine, who had "birthed" them.

Having said that, Scarlett did wonder what they would think when they met their father and saw that he was a stoat. Pokémon breeding... even today it had the so-called Day Care People stumped. Even though she considered herself more aware of what Pokédom got up to, Scarlett was none the wiser herself. Besides, as hard as it was to imagine, she couldn't bring herself to _ask_ Melaine and Melvin how it worked; she was a _lady_.

Besides, she knew what the response would be. "I don't ask how your parents made you, do I?" would be Mel's tart comment, and Melvin the Linoone would just wink and say, "Use your imagination." Scarlett did not want to do that.

Gently pulling herself to sit up she stroked the feathery heads of the two chicks. Donny. The Hardy one, pecked lightly at her hand while Daisy snoozed on - that hen did love to sleep. It seemed mean to move them but she did not have a choice as, as if sensing she was finally awake, Mother Hen Mel burst through the door.

"Morning!" her gruff voice cried. "Breakfast is on downstairs!"

'Shh,' Scarlett whispered, pointing to the end of the bed. 'The babies as sleeping.'

"You mean _my_ babies," Mel mumbled crossly. "I told them to stop sneaking into your room at night. They can't stay attached to you for too much longer since you'll be leaving soon." She walked over towards the thin netted curtains and pushed them aside to open the window. As she did the light assaulted not just Scarlett's eyes but Donny and Daisy too, who chirped awake. Mel eyed them both moodily as they looked up with infantile confusion. "You two shouldn't be in Scarlett's room!"

Neither of them sPoké - they were too young and hadn't learned how to churp correctly in words that made sense to Mel or Scarlett. It was sometimes odd having to try and explain to Cheren and Bianca that Pokémon did not have the ability to speaking from hatching day, just like humans. Still, there were times when Scarlett sensed odd humming about what they wanted and felt, like she was reading their hearts rather than listening to their cries.

"Now," Mel went on, scooping them both up in each of her arms. "I think you two need a bath and feeding. Fortunately, I've got some nice berries I can regurgitate-"

'Yeah, thanks, Mel!' Scarlett cut her off loudly. 'That is _exactly_ what someone wants to hear before breakfast.'

Mel snorted so loud smoke erupted from her beak. "We can't all be like humans and produce our own food for our young. _That_ isn't exactly the nicest thing to look at or listen to either." Then when she saw the confused look on the teenager's face she added, "You used to slurp very loudly."

Funnily enough, now that Scarlett thought about it, next to no Pokémon did produce milk for their young, even among the human-shaped group it was rare. She briefly tried to run through elementary school Pokémon Biology to think of the ones that _did_ when Mel snapped her out of it, waving a talon in front of her face.

'Sorry, Mel. Did you say something else?'

"I said, 'Even then you had a tendency to day dream.' Really, Scarlett, sometimes I wonder what you think about."

Scarlett tilted her head, 'You've never been able to to read my mind, have you?'

"Of course not!" Mel chuckled. "I'm not a Psychic-type."

'You know what I mean,' Scarlett sighed, rolling her eyes.

The Blaziken stared down at her for a moment. It was surprising how the two babies were just perched patiently in her arms. "Not like you can, no. If you want your mind read, you're better off asking Lady."

Speaking of which, if Mel was already awake then her mother's Gardevoir probably was too. Lady was an early riser by nature, often being the one to begin the morning chores of bringing in the post, starting the breakfast for the other Pokémon and getting the humans up too. In comparison, Mel was no rooster nor did she feel she had to be. She was a female after all, she would point out, her job was to look after the children - Scarlett and the younger Pokémon - and be the mother hen. After twenty odd years of fighting as the star of Sapphire Stone's team, Mel had earned her rest.

'I wonder how Cheren is feeling after last night,' Scarlett wondered, changing the subject. Last night had been the celebration of her and her two best friends making it to study Pokémon with affiliation to Castelia University. It had called for some pizza, bad PokéStudios movies and one too many Shuckle Cidar in Cheren's case. 'He drank his weight in "Dizzy Juice" last night.'

Mel snorted again, "He's a lightweight but I must admit, it was amusing!"

Indeed, it was probably the only time in the history of ever they had seen Cheren accept a Dare that involved him dancing on a table. He had been completely out of it. On the plus side neither Scarlett nor Bianca had laughed so much in a long time. It was always weirdly cute when their Ol' Cher let his guard down. He wasn't the sort of drunk to confess his love to you, but he was the sort to become shockingly bold.

Fortunately Bianca never drank a drop of Shuckle Cider, utterly t-total. Her father had always been somewhat strict when it came to behaviours that could lead to trouble. If she ever went to a party, he always told her never to drink punch from a bowl and that all boys wanted just one thing. Funnily enough he never seemed worried about Cheren, though. Not that he even came close to a threat.

As for Scarlett, she had drunk enough to get giddy before wanting to just go to sleep, hence the twelve hour old make-up. Shuckle Cider always tended to have that effect on her. It was like the tagline on the bottle - _"You never know what it'll do!"_

'Any post, Mel?' Scarlett asked.

"Do I look like Ophelia to you?"

That was her mother's Altaria.

'So, she still isn't back from the post office?'

"Actually, she went out with your mother and Skade this morning to collect a parcel from the next town over," Mel said thoughtfully.

'Mom went out already?'

"She's always been an earlier riser than you."

Mel watched as Scarlett stretched, arching her body in the most unorthodox way she could; it was amazing she could bend her spine that way. Her legs slithered out from under the covers to feel for the wooden floor. It was almost as warm as under the duvet but also moist, telling her that today would be a hot, humid day.

She sighed.

'I'm up!' she announced. She could smell the sweet scent of roseli topped oat porridge wafting up from the kitchen below.

"Lady is cooking up something," Mel shrugged, tucking Donny under her arm as she turned to leave Scarlett to do the usual morning procedure - very slowly get dressed while playing around on the Internet with her Xtransceiver. Before she went out the door, Mel noticed something sitting on Scarlett's desk. "Hm? What's this then?"

Focusing her eyes, Scarlett turned to look at the desk. There sat a blue box with a pretty green bow. A sudden flicker shot through her heart and she was suddenly reminded of her seventh birthday when she ran downstairs, opened the dining room French doors and saw a new bike sitting there. It was that rush of seeing a present, full stop.

'Where did that come from?' Scarlett said with baited breath. 'I thought you said Mom was still out.'

"She is," Mel nodded, then turned to bellow downstairs. "Oi, Lady!"

A moment of silence. Then, suddenly a bright multicoloured light flickered and slowly the human-like form of Lady the Gardevoir appeared in Scarlett's bedroom, holding a tray of porridge and a cup of breakfast tea. Even by Gardevoir standards she was very pretty and graceful. Once her Teleport was over she bowed politely, laying the tray on the bedside table, "Good morning, Scarlett." Then she turned a gentle but firm look towards Mel, "Did you really have to 'ca-doodal' like that? You set a bad example for the children!"

Mel ignored her, hoisting Daisy onto her shoulder, and pointed to the parcel, "Where did that come from?"

Lady looked, then turned back. "Professor Juniper delivered it this morning with a letter for Saffy. It was still early so I quietly brought it up here and left Scarlett to sleep." And she turned to nod her head meekly to her mistress's daughter again, "I hope you don't mind."

'Not at all!' Scarlett said keenly, leaping up to examine the box. The closer she got, the more excited she felt. If this was from Juniper... could it be? She noticed the card on top, 'Did she say anything when she dropped it off?'

"That this was for you and your friends," Lady replied, laying her delicate fingers against her chin. "I tried to thank her and explain you were still asleep but I don't think she quite understood me."

"Of course she didn't!" Mel scoffed. "For a smart human, she can be dippy."

Scarlett eyed the little envelope on top. Coyly, she picked it up and turned it over then around again. It simply said: To Scarlett, Cheren and Bianca. 'I guess it would be rude to open it without the others here...'

Lady nodded, "Indeed, Scarlett. Patience is a virtue. In any case, the Pokémon are sleeping."

The human girl span around, eyes wide. 'So it really is _them_?!'

"Yes, two boys and one girl," Lady said affirmatively, laying her hand on her chest. As she did a dim glow materialised beneath her long hands. "They seem to have come a long way and were very tired but they should be awake soon."

Mel smirked, "Hm, a girl, eh? I remember being the only girl among the starters. Of course, Saffy didn't have time to give me a once over - she had to save her stepfather from a very unremarkable Poochyena."

Scarlett brushed her fingers across the ribbon but couldn't sense the Pokémon inside. Often she found just being close to a Pokéball containing a Pokémon game her a sense of the Pokémon's nature and feelings. Sadly, she couldn't right now as the cardboard and ribbon was enough of a barrier to block the connection.

'I wish I had your abilities sometimes, Lady,' Scarlett muttered wistfully.

Lady just bowed her head modestly, "The powers of a psychic-type Pokémon are indeed a blessing but they can be equally devastating as well." Scarlett could sense a much deeper meaning hidden in her words, but she did not push to discover it. Even after eighteen years, the young woman knew these Pokémon who had, bled, laughed and cried alongside her parents since before she was born were entitled to their secrets.

Mel snorted yet again, "What about _my_ powers? Wouldn't you want to have them?"

Scarlett did not answer, instead tapping her Xtransceiver in frustration. No word from Cheren or Bianca yet. It was like waiting for a reasonable time to rouse her parents on Christmas morning. The anticipation of meeting her Pokémon bugged her to no end. She wondered what it would be like. _Her_ Snivy.

At that moment the doorbell went. Lady was on it like a flash, softly bowing her head and teleporting away to the front door. Mel and Scarlett exchanged glances as Donny managed to free himself to land on the floor with a flop and a "te-te-chic!" They listened for the voices downstairs. They immediately recognised it even from a distance.

_'Good morning, Lady,'_ came the high yet distinctly masculine voice of Cheren as he was let through the front door._ 'Sorry to call so suddenly but I got Scarlett's message.'_

_"Not at all, Cheren. Scarlett is just getting dressed,"_ Lady began, although to Cheren's ears it would have sounded more like a soft procession of "_devoir-voir-voir-de-gah_". In all honesty, Scarlett suspected that Lady could very well send her speech telepathically, strong as it was even by the standards of Gardevoir. However Lady made a conscious choice never to do this for fear of the consequences.

Mel slammed the door shut in a panic, putting Daisy on the floor beside her brother. "You need to get dressed now! I will _not_ have you speaking with a boy dressed like _that_." She motioned Scarlett's sleeping cami top and worn out brown shorts. She used to wear them every day when they were new. "I'll keep him downstairs while you make yourself decent."

'It's _Cheren_, Mel!' Scarlett giggled nervously. 'He's seen me looking less decent than this…' It was only as she finished she realised how that had probably sounded, especially judging by the way Mel's beak was clenched shut as she tried not to break her authoritarian parent role and burst out laughing. 'By which I mean in my swimwear.'

"Hmph," Mel grumbled, nostrils smoking. "It's not that I was worried about. It's you looking like a slob that really bothers me."

'That's it. Out!' Scarlett ordered comically, pointing to the door. 'Tell Cher I'm almost ready.'

Mel scooped up the babies to leave. Scarlett gave them both a little wave before the door clicked shut and she was left the dress. She quickly rooted into her draws to pull out one of her newer short all-in-ones and a loose top to go over it before she slipped into the en suite to quickly rinse herself down. She emerged less than three minutes later, dressed and with her hair still scooped up in a croc-clip.

She glanced at the gift box. 'You up yet, _littleuns_?'

Tiptoeing to the banister, she called downstairs. Cheren had gone quiet as the sound of a conversation between Lady and Briar-Rose the Roserade lofted up. ''Kay, Cher? I'm "decent" now...'

He must have leapt from the sofa and bounded up the stairs towards her. Cheren was still a keen runner so he could get anywhere fast but he seemed to have an extra spring in his step today - the excitement of getting his Pokémon clearly firing him up too. He only really looked at Scarlett once he was right in front of her.

He didn't even need to catch a breath. 'Morning, Scarlett.'

'Morning, Cher,' she smiled before inviting him up to her room. It was a frequent hang out for the three if them. Scarlett was on the second floor in the attic room and thus had lots of space for film nights, study nights or just talk-nights. 'How's your head?' she asked once she closed the door. 'You really got yourself confused last night.'

Cheren spun deftly on his heel, scowling at that light jab. 'Fine, thanks. I always keep well hydrated so I never get hangovers.'

He stepped into her room and looked around, 'So, Bianca isn't here yet?'

'You know what she's like,' Scarlett chuckled. 'She'll be here soon.'

'I guess she can be forgiven for being late on this occasion,' he nodded with a small smile. 'This is all pretty short notice , huh?' and he looked towards the gift box, 'Are you certain it's _them_?'

'Lady said she could sense their presence in the box,' Scarlett affirmed. 'There's no doubt about it.'

'Are you still okay with our decision?' was Cheren's next question. 'About me taking Tepig?'

It had always been an assumption of his that Scarlett would want to take the same type of Pokémon that her mother had raised. It was not just Mel, either, as Cheren - who had followed and studied the careers of both Sapphire and Steven - knew that Scarlett's mother had also owned a Cyndaquil in the past. However, Scarlett had seemed not to mind which Pokémon she ultimately ended up getting and she had preempted the choices Cheren and Bianca had made. Oshawott was one of Bianca's long-time favourite Pokémon, so her picking that one came as no surprise to anyone. As for Cheren, he had his own reasons for picking Tepig. After all, it had been the one Shauntal had chosen and he had naturally developed an interest and affinity with the species as a result. So, Scarlett had predicted for a long time that if the three of them began their adventure together, as they had always wanted, she would have Snivy. Through study and research based on this assumption, Scarlett had developed a deep interest and love for the pretty little snake type Pokémon.

'Why? Not planning on flaking on me, are you?' she teased.

'No, I... just wanted to make sure,' he said quickly. 'I don't want you to think that Bi and I forced you into the choice.'

'I'd be perfectly happy with any of the three,' she assured him. It was true too - of all the regions in all the world, Unova had the best starters in her opinion. She tilted her head, 'But if you change your mind now and take Snivy, I'll be annoyed simply because all of that reading on its physiology will have gone to waste...'

'No, no,' Cheren said, pushing his glasses up his nose to hide a tiny smile. 'I wanted Tepig from the start. If any one'll flake on you, it'll be Bianca.'

'I doubt it, Snivy isn't really her type of Pokémon. Besides, you know how much she loves Oshawott.' She looked over at the box again before turning back to Cheren. He was staring intently at the box too. 'The anticipation is crushing, isn't it?'

Cheren sighed affirmatively, 'Why do we have to wait for her again? We all know what we're picking...' His voice trailed off as if a thought suddenly occurred to him. 'Odd...' he muttered.

'What is it?' Scarlett asked.

'I was just wondering why Professor Juniper brought the Pokémon to your house and didn't just ask us to the lab,' he said, folding his arms. 'It's just... strange.'

Scarlett thought it through herself. A thought occurred to her - the letter Lady mentioned that was for her mother. Had the professor sent the Pokémon here to be checked over by Saffy? If so, why? Either way, she kept these thoughts to herself and went to sit on her bed, picking up the now slightly lukewarm tea Lady had brought to drink. It was something to fill the time and make her look casual.

'Sit down if you want, Cher,' she suggested.

There was plenty of seating space in the room.

'I'll stand,' he declared, and continued his staring contest with the gift box.

Scarlett kicked her legs back and forth. 'A watched pot never boils, Cher.'

'Hahaha, any more cliches?'

'Best things come to those who wait?'

He chuckled despite himself before he let out a groan. 'Ugh, what is taking Bianca so long?'

'It's still early,' Scarlett assured him.

Even as he had bemoaned their friend for taking so long, she could hear the door below being opened and someone being admitted. It had to be Bianca as she could already hear her frenzied steps as she pelted through the living room, up the stairs, across the landing, towards Scarlett's attic room and—

'Hi, hi!' came a breathless, Western Belle drawl that was utterly Bianca. When the pretty, curvy blonde saw the unimpressed scowl on Cheren's face, she shrank back a little. 'Did I take too long again? Sooooory!'

Her tone was distinctly sarcastic, causing Cheren to cock an eyebrow up.

They are too different for words, Scarlett thought.

'Honestly, Bianca,' Cheren grumbled on. 'You'd be late for your own funeral.'

'Hey, hey!' Bianca pouted. 'Scarlett didn't set a time. She just said come over ASAP.'

'Yeah, but—' he was about to argue back.

'Blah, blah, blah,' Scarlett interrupted with a well-meaning smile. She grabbed Cheren's face, shutting him up immediately. 'No one cares, Cher-_bear_.'

Bianca giggled while Cheren scowled his way through a blush. 'Please don't call me that! I don't even let my mother call me _that_ anymore.' It was actually Shauntal's pet name for him. He shakily lifted his hands to lightly push Scarlett away. He then smirked, 'Little "honey-combee..."' he said, reciting Scarlett's own little nickname.

'Are these the Pokémon?' Bianca asked, changing the subject.

They looked over to see her standing right over the gift box. Cheren and Scarlett approached it also, still holding back the tension.

'Come on, Scarlett!' Cheren said, his voice really starting to sound excited. Well, for Cheren. 'It's your house, so you do the honours.'

Scarlett took a deep breath and reached out her hand to undo the ribbon to release the card attached to the box. She read allowed, just the keep the tension going because... anticipation was fun:

_Dear Scarlett, Cheren and Bianca,_

_I know it is a little early but here are your Pokémon! They arrived unexpectedly the other day and it seems senseless to keep them cooped up with me. Your course officially starts in Autumn, so get to know your little friends first and train them before then._

_Once you are aquatinted with your little partners, head over to the lab to collect your Pokédexes. Remember to bring your IDs for verification so I can let the college know you are enrolling early._

_See you in a bit,_

_Professor Juniper_

'Yes, yes,' Bianca cooed excitedly. 'Come on, open the box!'

Scarlett was startled at how quickly her friend ripped away the green ribbon. She chuckled nonetheless as she lifted the box and looked inside. Immediately, she could sense the presence of the young Pokémon in their balls, now fully awake and looking up at her expectantly. Snivy, Oshawott and Tepig, each signified by their elemental symbol engraved into their Pokéballs. Looking back to Cheren and Bianca, she made sure one last time they were happy with their choices, as much as it killed her to wait any longer. 'No trades, this is for keeps,' she told them.

'Just get on with it!' Bianca jumped up on the spot. 'I want to meet my Oshawott!'

With no more reason to deny herself, Scarlett picked up the Grass-type Pokéball and pressed the released button.

In a blaze of white light and green leaves, out popped the elegant looking Pokémon contained within. The moment she set eyes on it, Scarlett had summoned it up immediately. She had studied Snivy extensively and her own innate powers filled in the rest. A female Snivy - such a rarity - with her core skills in her speed and attack, which a flaw in her defence. Nonetheless, she seemed like a strong Pokémon all around, abnormally so. The same could be said of Cheren and Bianca's little team mates as they each snatched up the Pokémon and released them. The only other odd thing were the three diamonds on the Snivy's tail…

Scarlett looked at the Snivy as it curiously peered back. 'What's your name, girl?'

That piqued Cheren's interest, 'A female Snivy? I hear they can be a chore to raise...'

The female Snivy snapped her head around to look at him, "Chore!? How insolent! I hope you have the wherewithal to raise Pyrrhus affectively."

'Is that Tepig's name?' Scarlett queried. 'Pyrrhus?'

The Snivy looked back, "Indeed, and the Oshawott is called Oswald. As for myself, I am…'"and she took a pause before deciding to finally tell her, "I am Zoe."

'Zoe,' Scarlett repeated. 'That's a pretty name.'

'Did she say my Pokémon's name?!' Bianca asked, cuddling her Osahwott to her tightly.

Zoe looked between the two young women and tilted her head, "Is she a little…_simple_?"

It hadn't occurred to Scarlett that there would be a Pokémon who did not know that not all humans - in fact hardly any - could not understand the utterances or hearts of Pokémon language. For some reason, Zoe was such a Pokémon. She came across as a feisty and entitled little thing, so perhaps she had been bred in isolation? It was fairly uncommon these days but Scarlett knew it still occurred. Overbreeding of Pokémon was becoming a rapid problem in Unova, with many being inbred and rarely coming into human contact. Perhaps this was Zoe's background? It would explain her naivety but not her haughtiness.

Either way, Scarlett got a feeling she was going to like this little angel a lot.

'His name is Oswald,' Scarlett finally answered, and offered to pick Zoe up like the others had with their new partners. 'May I pick you up?' With only initial hesitation, checking on her two friends beforehand, Zoe allowed her new mistress to gather her in her arms. Scarlett smirked, 'Hm, Cher says female Snivy are a challenge to raise— and I like a challenge.'

Zoe smiled, "Interesting. You seem confident."

'I have lived among Pokémon my whole life,' Scarlett assured her. 'And I like Pokémon with a lot of character. You certainly fit the bill on that front.'

Zoe scowled but her expression softened very quickly. "Yes, well, that's all fine. As for what I look for in a human, it is dependency and overall skill. I will need that in order to achieve my mission."

'Mission?' Scarlett repeated, an odd word choice. 'What mission would that be?'

With the same wistfulness tone of a daydreaming school girl, Zoe sighed and placed her small arms across her chest as she spoke. "I need to become stronger," she said simply. "I… want to become a great, powerful and beautiful Serperior. I…" she paused and opened her eyes to see Scarlett listening intently. It surprised her as she had been warned that most humans were 'incapable of listening', whatever that meant. Zoe just assumed it meant they were a bit stupid, but Scarlett seemed all there. It appeared to her that she had struck gold with this human. She continued, "I had no hope of becoming all I needed to be, if I didn't find a human to train me. So, here I am."

Scarlett nodded, resting Zoe to sit on her arm, 'That's a good dream. I hope you will allow me to help you achieve it.'

"Hm," Zoe hummed pleasantly. "I like your style!"

From behind them there was a snort as Pyrrhus chuckled. "I reckon she'll like your style too, Zoe," he laughed, offering her a warm smile. "You're one of the spunkiest Snivy ever to grace the soil of Isshu."

To Scarlett's surprise, Zoe's scales changed hue ever so slightly. They went a deeper green; a symbol of flattery or joy for a Snivy. "T-thank you, Pyrrhus," Zoe mumbled.

* * *

**NOTES**

**Shuckle Cidar **— A popular human drink made from berries fermented in a Shuckle's shell. The berries used in the drink vary widely, including the infamous berries that are reliant on the user's personality to have a desired affect. If they "don't like" a certain type of food, it will cause confusion. This is the reason for the tag line: "You never know what it'll do!" A popular euthanisum for being drunk in Unova is "getting confused." Needless to say, "don't hit yourself" is also a common call to people who are clearly drunk too.

**Western Belle **— This is a pun off "Southern Belle" and is used to describe people from Western Unova, who are seen much in the same way as Southerners are seen to Northerners in the USA. Stereotypes and all.


End file.
